Posted on 09/16/2015 7:45:36 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
DEMS ANSWER WALKER WITH LABOR LAW BILL: Two days after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his plans to eliminate the NLRB and take right-to-work national, congressional Democrats will today propose legislation developed with the AFL-CIO to stiffen penalties for employers who violate the National Labor Relations Act.
Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Bobby Scott will introduce a bill that they say would “help ensure workers are able to have a voice in the workplace and would crack down on employers who break the law when workers exercise their right to collective action.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will stand alongside the lawmakers at a 2:30 p.m. press conference in the Senate.
AFL-CIO leaders have been talking up this bill for months without revealing any details; Trumka finally said that it would allow the NLRB to collect “treble damages” against employers. Under the status quo the NLRB is not able to collect damages of any kind, nor to levy fines; its enforcement powers are confined to reinstating fired or demoted workers and awarding back pay. So opening the door even a crack to punitive or compensatory damages would be a very big deal. Sen. Bernie Sanders also plans to issue a labor law reform proposal shortly, with card check provisions similar to those in the Employee Free Choice Act, which back in 2007 cleared the (then-Democratic) House 241-185 but was killed off in the Senate by a GOP filibuster.
The likelihood that either the Murray-Scott bill or the Sanders bill would ever pass a Republican Congress, or even get a committee hearing, is pretty remote. No significant changes to 1935’s National Labor Relations Act have been enacted since 1959’s Landrum-Griffin amendments, which amended 1947’s anti-union Taft-Hartley amendments to tilt the balance of power further away from labor and toward management. Even Lyndon Johnson, who favored a bill to repeal Taft-Hartley as part of his Great Society program, couldn’t push the repeal through Congress; after passing the House 221-203 in 1965 the bill was twice filibustered in the Senate, in 1965 and 1966. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton subsequently failed with more modest reforms that, again, cleared the House but were filibustered in the Senate. (Carter’s bill, like the Murray-Scott bill, increased the penalties NLRB could impose on employers.)
What all this history suggests is that passing any kind of NLRA reform would be very difficult even under the most favorable circumstances, i.e., Democratic control of both houses of Congress. Today, of course, Democrats control neither. Even so, with public opinion more favorably disposed toward unions than it’s been in years, and with income inequality near the top of the policy agenda, the AFL-CIO and congressional Democrats see a labor reform bill as a vehicle to start a conversation that’s sure to spread to the 2016 presidential contest.
They are taking the idea of Walker's work in Wisconsin expanding nationally, very very seriously.
Without the money and muscle of unions, the Democratic Party is greatly weakened and their employees are not compelled to join or to pay "dues."
Gov. Walker's proposal to eliminate the NLRB has them hitting back.
The Bolshies will be defeated in the House and Senate, and, Obummer will implement it.
May 2, 2015: With membership now voluntary, Wisconsin AFSCME forced into big cutbacks
"Governor Scott Walker and the GOP-controlled state legislature freed government employees from involuntary forced union membership, enabling them to choose or not choose to pay dues. The results have shown that roughly two-thirds have not chosen union membership when given the opportunity. And that has meant big cutbacks for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the most left wing and biggest political contributors to Democrats among American unions.......
[SNIP]
.....Keep in mind that AFSCME [American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees] was founded in Wisconsin, the state that was the birthplace of the Progressive political movement. Thus, the rejection of forced union membership is doubly painful. And it is already painful for the union bosses:........"
....No mention is made of political donations by the unions, but in the past AFSCME has been a major source of money and manpower for the Democrats. That racket is now ending for workers in Wisconsin, and one of Scott Walker’s strongest appeals will be to extend these reforms nationwide."
Uphill Battle. Americans have had ENOUGH. I know PLENTY of Blue-Collar Dems that would rather have their union dues in their own pockets.
The fleecing of American workers ends now. :)
Where the UNIONS are depositing employees’ PENSION funds:
Check this out:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3336925/posts#13 [links]
Randi Weingarten AFT [American Federation of Teachers] President
and Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO President
and BCTD
are investing pension funds in Democrat initiatives [GREEN and CLINTON GLOBAL ready].
*******************************************************
“......At the White House event today, the labor movement committed to work to invest $150 million in energy-efficient retrofit projects in the coming months.
President Obama announced that nearly $4 billion of investments have been committed already, including $2 billion by workers’ pension funds, CEOs, mayors and university presidents for energy-saving upgrades. This builds on 14 private sector commitments announced at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in June, including the labor movement’s aim to invest $10 billion in pension fund assets in job-creating infrastructure projects over the next five years.
“The Better Buildings initiative has all the right components to make a real difference—it will create profitable investment opportunities for worker pension funds, create badly needed good jobs, increase America’s competitiveness around energy savings, and address the dangers of climate change,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
“This is about smart investments in America’s future,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said at the White House event. “The initiative is a win-win-win. It puts skilled laborers back to work on projects that will cut energy bills and pollution, reduce our dependency on foreign oil and create tens of thousands of new jobs. It’s exactly what America needs now to strengthen our economy.” The Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO said the initiative will have a profound impact on the U.S. construction industry, which is suffering a 14 percent unemployment rate nationwide, by providing apprenticeships and jobs.
“It will create much-needed pathways for Americans to gain access to job and career training while making great strides to address our critical energy and environmental challenges,” said Mark H. Ayers, president of the Building and Construction Trades Department.
The AFT has been retrofitting its headquarters building in Washington, D.C., to become LEED Silver certified, and the AFL-CIO has committed to a Better Buildings Challenge retrofit of its headquarters, expected to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent.
“We not only are asking others to commit to energy-saving retrofits, but we’re also doing it ourselves,” Weingarten said.
Over the past year, the AFL-CIO, AFT and BCTD have been working with a broad coalition of pension funds, money managers, public officials and employers to focus investment in our nation’s infrastructure projects, with a particular emphasis on energy-efficient retrofits.
The AFL-CIO has exceeded its initial Clinton Global Initiative commitment of working with existing real estate-focused investment funds to invest between $10 million and $20 million of additional capital in energy-efficient retrofits of commercial, industrial, institutional and public buildings over the next six months. — AFL-CIO, AFT and BCTD Laud $4 Billion Commitment to Presidential ‘Better Buildings Challenge’ Initiative [Dec - 2011]
"The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has become a lightning rod for controversy under President Obama, with its aggressive actions fueling sustained warfare between business and labor."
March 31, 2015: Obama vetoes NLRB legislation
"In one of his first clashes with the new Republican-dominated Congress over labor policy, President Obama vetoed a GOP-backed resolution Tuesday that would halt a National Labor Relations Board rule making it easier for workers to hold so-called “ambush” union-organizing elections.
It was Mr. Obama’s second veto since Republicans took control of the Senate in January, following his rejection in February of a measure that would have expedited the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline...."
Sept 2, 2015: NLRB and Small Business: Tensions Heightened Under Obama
"The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has pushed for rules that critics argue have favored unions and targeted the small business community. The board's latest controversial decision came last week, in a ruling that makes employers liable for labor violations committed by business partners and contractors. The Hill reported five other NLRB rulings that were decided during President Obama's tenure that were against the best interest of small business. “There’s perhaps no labor board that has done more for organized labor than this one has,” Michael Lotito, an employment and labor attorney, told the The Hill. The labor board has “really put the wind back in the sails of unions,” said Beth Milito, NFIB Senior Legal Counsel, according to The Hill....."
Dems answer Walker with MORE UNCONSTITUTIONAL FEDERAL ACTS.
Walker is right on target: abolish the unconstitutional National Labor Relations Act and the NLRB.
Which candidate will put the CONSTITUTION in the middle of federal government issues? The political key to a rebirth of freedom in America is the REINSTATEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION AGAINST THE FEDS. A FREE America is a GREAT America.
Donald Trump, are you listening?
...An AP article anticipating Walker’s announcement noted that “experts were taken aback by the scope of Walker's proposals.” A professor of labor law is quoted thusly: “I’ve never seen anything like this. This will take the breath away from anyone who’s worked in labor relations for any length of time....It’s pretty draconian.”
Hallelujah!.."
Next on the list:
Lower corporate taxes and drive a stake through the heart of the EPA.
Walker's Day One Patient Freedom Plan
******
From Walker's August 18, 2015 speech unveiling plan linked above:
".....As I mentioned, the first part is just repealing Obamacare entirely.
And some people said, “How are you going to do that? You know, you’ve got a Congress out there.”
Well, it’s pretty simple. To me, the ways we make sure this happens right away. Because we’ve got to repeal Obamacare entirely. Lock, stock, and barrel. We’ve got to repeal every part of it. Every part of it, including the parts that Nancy Pelosi didn’t bother to read before she voted on it. We’ve got to repeal it all.
And I’ve talked to reformers like Paul Ryan and Tom Price and Mike Lee and others out there. You know what? They’re ready. They’re ready to work with us to pass reforms as soon as possible. ASAP.
But we need to have a little bit of an incentive out there to do that and so for me the great way to motivate the Congress, to pass the reforms we’re talking about, is to make sure that they have to live under the same Obamacare rules that the rest of America has been put under over the last few years. Right?
So on my very first day, I will issue an executive order that will pull back on a special deal that President Obama provided for Congress.
You know, they got pulled out of this like they often exempt themselves from other things when it comes to other laws out there.
We’re going to do an executive order that gets rid of the deal that President Obama put in place – the special deal for Congress – and make them live under the same conditions.
I think once they’re susceptible to the Obamacare premium increases that so many Americans have been under over the last few years, I have a pretty good idea that that’s going to light a fire under Congress to get things moving right away.
A lot of candidates talk about repealing Obamacare. We’ve actually got a plan to make sure Congress acts on the reforms right away because they’re going to have to live under the same rules that everyone else in America does going forward.
So the next part is once we get established that we’re going to repeal Obamacare in its entirety, the next screen up here I’ll show you what we’re going to do and that’s about ensuring affordability and accessibility for everyone when it comes to health insurance.
We want affordable and accessible health insurance for everyone in America......" Source
I think Walker is wonderful, I want him for president in about 8 years. I think we need Donald Trump now, I think he is the only one big enough to go up against the democrat fraud and lying media, and win. There is not a single other candidate who can win, and we all need to face that fact. And if the Democrats win, there will never be a Scott Walker presidency or a Ted Cruz presidency, or other the presidency of other great Americans patriots, EVER! Nobody who loves this country should be bashing Donald Trump, he is a gift from God to break the evil left. I really really thought God was done with this country, but it appears to me that He is giving us one last chance. Let us not be fools.
Actual implementation of constitutional limitations on the federal government is what the Left calls that “draconian”.
Actually, America itself and the freedom she stands for, protected by the Constitution against the feds, is draconian to the tyranny-loving Left.
Time for the individual states and the American People to take back THEIR Constitution and THEIR freedom and STAND AGAINST unconstitutional federal acts which by definition are acts of tyranny.
Good post. I feel exactly the way you do.
I also think it is CRITICAL who Trump chooses for VP becasue if Trump has a good or great presidency, his VP, like Reagan’s VP, may get in easily. Cruz or Walker? I this point, I’m not sure.
You drop a campaign comment for Trump on a Walker thread, dismissing that highlights an issue (there are many and Scott Walker has talked at length about them) that is the foundation of the Democrat’s power?
Go after this and you take away their clout. The Left recognizes it, so should we.
I’m sure that there a many Trump threads on FR where you can make your pitch.
Even solid Dem majorities under Jimmy Carter were unable to update the Labor Relations Act.
Walker has gotten under the skin of Democrats in DC with his anti federal union proposals. They introduce counter legislation.
FReep mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
I hope President Trump puts Walker in charge of that
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